This report contains the results from several meetings of three different focus groups. The meetings were conducted as a part of the evaluation for the Pilot Study of Advisory On-Board Vehicle Warning Systems at Railroad Grade Crossings. The focus groups were used to obtain in-depth information about driver-perception, driver-system-interaction, and other related issues.
The three focus groups were drivers, operation managers, and members of the Project
Management Committee (PMC)/Technical Oversight Committee (TOC). This Pilot Study used
commercially available equipment that did not meet the system reliability standards promised by
the contracting team and required for this particular application. False alerts ruined the trust of
the drivers and the project team for the In-Vehicle Receiver (IVR) system. The driver's interest
was reduced due to repeated false alerts, the long development period before deployment, and
annoying noise when the IVR was activated (beeping). A lot of drivers did not report the false
alerts because it involved additional paperwork. Drivers preferred the combination of audible
and visual messages to the individual (visual only or audible only) message. The visual mode by
itself was ineffective during the daytime since it was not clearly readable and usually did not
increase the drivers’ awareness of the approaching trains. However, during the nighttime this
mode worked well. Drivers did not understand the necessity to have the IVR system at
crossings with existing active warning devices, but they understood that at unprotected
crossings, the system could be very valuable. Suggestions were also made to improve the
effectiveness of the IVR system.